Buffalo Council Will Not Fund Survey of Park Lane

The Buffalo City Council, at last week's meeting, voted to not fund a survey of a strip of land on Park Lane in west Buffalo.
Residents on the street have been maintaining the land for a number of years, and recently made a request of the council for the city to install power, a sprinkler system and /or to maintain the land. The city was not willing to, or legally able to do any of the improvements on land they do not own.
The city has made inquiries into who may own the land and has not been able to determine ownership based on documents filed at the courthouse.
City Attorney Ben Kirven explains.
Kirven said he checked with local survey companies that estimated the cost at anywhere from $500 to $1,000 to complete the survey. He was looking for council direction at the meeting.
Councilmen Bill Hawley and Stan Lakin said they thought the city would be setting a dangerous precedent by doing the survey, while councilman Bruce Hepp said the city had been requested to do the survey and should do it.
The vote had Hawley and Lakin voting for denying the survey, and Hepp and Russ Humphrey voting for the survey. With a tie vote, Mayor Randy Dyess cast the third vote against the survey.